KOHAT: A police clerk and a detective foot constable (DFC) have been arrested for issuing character certificates to two persons, allegedly involved in murder, kidnapping for ransom cases, to be able to participate in the upcoming local government elections, Dawn has learnt.

The arrested policemen were produced in a local court on Friday and the judge sent them to prison on judicial remand. District police officer Mohammad Sohaib Ashraf ordered the arrest of two policemen for verifying nomination documents of two urban-2 candidates by preparing bogus papers. They were immediately suspended. The DPO had received a complaint that senior clerk of the police’s moral certificate verification department in Rescue 15, Shah Zaman, and DFC of city police station, Zar Gul, had issued clearance papers to the alleged murderers, and ordered inquiry against them, which proved them guilty of the offence. They reportedly issued moral certificates to candidates contesting for general council seats, including Amjid Gul of Gahri Mawaz Khan and Farhad Khan of Garhi Dhodiwal.

Murder and kidnapping cases have been registered against the contesting candidates in the city police station, sources confirmed to Dawn.

ARRESTED: The cantonment police on Friday arrested 14 protesters and sent them to jail for attacking the local Pesco office, manhandling officials and damaging equipment here the other day.

The police had registered cases against 200 men and women for ransacking SDO (rural) office, setting ablaze record and beating up staff. The protesters had been agitating for last one week to condemn loadshedding in Jungle Khel area and demanding replacement of a faulty transformer. But the Pesco didn’t pay heed to the demands, which turned the protesters violent. The police said they were making raids for arrest of the remaining people involved in the attack. They said the 14 arrested people had been set to prison by a local court.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2015

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